Skis are one of the most difficult sporting good items to transport because of their length. When transporting skis on a car top or trunk rack carrier, often times the skis will come loose and fly off the roof causing danger to other vehicles on the road. Also to replace a lost or broken ski can be very expensive. When travelling, wind sometimes causes problems when the transporting skis "buck" the wind. Also, when skis are transported on the exterior of a vehicle they are constantly exposed to the weather elements and the problem of theft is always present.
When carrying skis through an airport, the carrier must always be careful as to not turn quickly for fear of striking someone with his skis. Airlines provide special containers for shipment of the skis with the traveler. Without these special shipping containers one's skis are subject to rough handling in the baggage area, and expensive repair can result from improper handling.
When not in use, skis also present a storage problem. It is very difficult to find a suitable height in a closet or storage space to store the skis correctly.
Prior art sectioned joints for skis have been unsuccessful in that the section securing devices would protrude from the ski thus causing premature release during the ski run. The interconnecting joint was subject to failure because of stress at the joint or unsuitable securement of the joints. A latching device has also been tried for jointed skis, but this method has also proven to be unsatisfactory. Prior art joints have been unable to match the performance of the unjointed skis. Many prior art devices simply cut the ski in half and then tried to section the ski together with a latching device, only to find that there is not enough strength on the contact surface, causing the ski to come apart when used.
The military use skis for winter operations and find that when full length skis are transported and air-dropped some break upon impact and those that do not break are tangled with other ski equipment, such as ski poles and bindings.
Those concerned with these and other problems recognize the need for an improved collapsible, yet sturdy when assembled ski with no protruding securing devices.